Today it seems there is a new beauty tool or at-home device hitting the market every week, each promising to deliver glowing, healthy skin from the comfort of your own home. It may be tempting to turn to these options if you have a busy lifestyle, and while you may not be able to mimic the results of in-clinic treatments, there are a few treatments that can be done safely and effectively at home, provided you’ve got the right kit and proceed with caution. So which treatments can you utilise the power of at home, and which should be left up to the professionals?

At-home microneedling

Microneedling is a very effective way to stimulate new collagen and elastin production and diminish lines, wrinkles, acne scars, and pigmentation whilst making the complexion look fresh and glowy. But it is best to leave this treatment to the professionals, who know precisely where to target the tiny needles, ensure they’re at the correct depth and are safe and sterile.

Microneedling should never be done over active acne or scars that haven’t properly healed yet, and a professional will be best equipped to assess and advise you. Also, remember that home-use microneedling rollers have shorter needles than those used in a professional setting, so you won’t be able to make much of a difference with anything more complex at home – like pigmentation or deep acne scarring. If you’re using it simply to aid penetration of serums, then a superficial at home roller is a good addition. But for the full benefits of microneedling, stick to an in clinic treatment.

At-home skin peels

Chemical peels are fantastic for so many skin concerns, and there are many different types you can have depending on your skin’s needs. Every peel is based on an exfoliating agent – usually chemical or fruit-derived, hence the ‘peeling’ action they have on the skin by sloughing off dead cells and getting to work on specific skin issues. This doesn’t necessarily mean your skin will peel, though (that should only happen with deep peels), and it certainly shouldn’t when you do an at-home peel.

Home peels are a safe and effective way to boost skin glow, but it’s all about using them in the correct way. Medical-grade products are an excellent choice for those who want a reliable formula that gets to work quickly. They have been formulated to penetrate the skin and work at the exact depth where they need to be to exert effects, they work better than less sophisticated options that simply work on the dead skin layer, the stratum corneum.

At-home LED Light Therapy

LED light therapy is one of the most potent forces in skincare. Research has proven that LED treatments can effectively treat a multitude of skin concerns, from signs of ageing to minimising redness and reducing acne, the benefits of LED light therapy are manifold. But unless you’re investing in a serious bit of kit like the Dermalux Flex MD, which is medically certified, you’re probably better off booking in for LED treatment in clinic instead. This is because most portable LED devices designed for home use simply aren’t powerful enough to really deliver.

That being said, if you are adamant that you’d like to purchase an LED device, some home-use devices can give impressive results when used consistently. My go-to home LED device is the Lightstim for wrinkles, which is the best I’ve tried. It works to reduce and eliminate fine lines and wrinkles, restoring the skin’s youthful appearance by stimulating the production of collagen and elastin with red, infrared, and amber lights for skin rejuvenation. You press it gently onto the skin and hold it there for three minutes – you’ll feel some warmth where you’re holding it, and it can be used on the hands and neck, as well as the face.

At-home Skin Tightening

Everyone wants tighter skin with more sculpted contours, and radiofrequency is a great way to achieve this. It heats up the lower levels of the skin, where the collagen lies, to the extent that the collagen contracts – you can think of it as ‘shrink-wrapping’ the skin – tightening sagging skin and improving its firmness.

Again, some devices are better than others, so if you’d like to invest in a home-device, do your research first. If you have moderate skin laxity or jowls, you’ll probably only see results by booking in for a clinical grade skin tightening treatment with a practitioner who can properly assess your face, recommend a treatment plan, and monitor your progress.

In terms of devices, Orlaya skin is the best at-home skin tightening device I’ve come across. It’s an entirely unique home-use radiofrequency device. Using unipolar RF, it heats the skin to a deeper depth than other home-use devices, achieving collagen stimulation, lifting and tightening. It tightens the skin and promotes collagen and elastin production, targeting crow’s feet lines, loss of elasticity around the chin and jawline and reducing puffiness. For me, the feel of using it comes closest to an in-clinic treatment out of the home use devices I’ve trialled. It’s efficient and straightforward to incorporate into your homecare regime but delivers beautiful results.

If you’d like to chat through the options and establish what’s right for you, click here to book a consultation.